Take Me With You

Synopsis from Amazon

August Shroeder, a burned-out teacher, has been sober since his nineteen-year-old son died. Every year he’s spent the summer on the road, but making it to Yellowstone this year means everything. The plan had been to travel there with his son, but now August is making the trip with Philip’s ashes instead. An unexpected twist of fate lands August with two extra passengers for his journey, two half-orphans with nowhere else to go.

What none of them could have known was how transformative both the trip—and the bonds that develop between them—would prove, driving each to create a new destiny together.

TOW Opinion
It is serendipity that August was on his way to vacation for the summer and his RV needed repairing in a shop where the mechanic needed to send his two sons away for the summer while he went to jail.
I can understand that August did not want to take on the responsibility of these two children much in the same way that many people do not want to be Foster parents. But when presented with the challenge, he accepted and treated them like he would treat his own son. In some respects, I think he might have even treated them better than he treated his son because he was able to learn from his mistakes and take that into consideration.

This story deal with several complex themes, including alcoholism, grief because of loss of a child, and emotional issues. For example, it is not just about the emotional journey of August, it is also about two little boys that are able to find a father figure when theirs was not a worthy role model.

This story might be a very emotional one for some because the interaction between the main characters is tender and sweet at times.